See why having an interior design renovation plan can save you money

My business is so funny sometimes. I seem to go in waves when it comes to designing spaces for clients. This past summer, my head was involved with bathrooms. Four to be exact! You could say I had my head in toilets for about 3 months. This fall, my head has been in kitchens and I am currently working on 5 different kitchen designs for clients. While I love working in bathrooms, I really love working in kitchens as there typically is a major changes taking place. I have always knows how important it is to have an interior design renovation plan and I’m going to share you how I have saved my clients money by having one.

Interior Design Renovation Plan

Walls or no walls

I have been very fortunate to be working with some great clients in preparing them for a massive renovation in their home. I’ve also been extremely lucky to be working on this project with an Architectural Designer. While Ray has been working on the entire ‘as is’ plan, the exterior and roof lines (as there will be an addition for this home and a new vaulted ceiling is going to be added to parts of this home), I have been busy working on the interior and creating bedrooms, bathrooms, and living spaces. Although my clients will be working directly with a kitchen cabinet company to design the kitchen (they have a great relationship with them prior to working with me), my clients asked me my opinion on walls vs no walls.

When my clients were starting to see the potential of their home, they asked about a wall coming out by their kitchen.

To do this, I needed to add some cabinets to create a very quick kitchen plan. With a click of a finger, I was able to add a wall, throw in some cabinets (remember: I’m not designing the kitchen – just giving an overall feel for my clients) and voila! My clients have an idea of what it was going to look like. The image below is looking into the home from the front entrance (and we can see the roof line isn’t quite right yet on this plan that I was working on).

When they saw the wall, they asked if I could take it out to see that option. Again, with a click of a finger, I was able to delete the cabinets and delete the wall. The image below again, is looking into the home from the front entrance.

Interior Design Renovation Plan – Saving money!

Here is where I have saved my clients time and money! This is what could have potentially happened if they chose the plan with the wall. If during construction they didn’t like the wall, they would have asked for it to be removed. It would have added on the following:

An added fee to have a ‘change order’ for the scope of work.

An added fee for the crew.

They would have already paid for the cabinets that were going on that wall that they have now decided to take out. They would be on the hook to still pay for those cabients.

A longer construction time.

If they decided the opposite (they didn’t want the wall and then decided they did), they would have added on the following:

An added fee to have new cabinets constructed.

An additional fee to have the new wall constructed.

Another added fee to have any electrical added (if there is under cabinet lighting).

An added construction fee.

A longer timeline as the cabinets would have to get built (roughly 4-6 weeks).

Interior Design Renovation Plan

Choosing Finishes

For another kitchen project, I am working with another great couple in redesigning parts of their kitchen. We will be taking out the corner pantry and I’m redesigning the island. The rest of the kitchen is getting tweaked and will have all new cabinets and finishes. So while some of the layout is being changed, some of the layout is not.

During the redesign phase, I was adding in some things I heard my client talk about during our time together. One thing that Mrs. Client really loves is the colour red. She even talked about having a funky, red, feature wall (tile of some sort). When I sent draft one of the kitchen, I had just that. A funky red backsplash that would certainly make a statement.

After we met to go over the two options I had come up with, Mrs. Client admitted that while she loves the colour red, she wasn’t ready to make that huge commitment with a fixed element. After making some changes to the kitchen design, I took the feedback and created a darker island, white outer cabinets (like they requested) and put in pops of red ‘decor’ items to give my client a vision of what their space could look like. Voila – changes were made and it didn’t cost any extra money to make that change!

Interior Design Renovation Plan – Saving money!

Here is where I have saved my clients money! IF my client went with a splashy red backsplash, she would have to live with that for a long time. A kitchen backsplash isn’t impossible to change, but it’s not as easy as a paint change would be. It’s a committment! I often ask my clients, “Are you ready to be married to that?” when it comes to fixed elements.

Interior Design Renovation Plan

My very dear friend Claire Jefford with Creating Contrasting Designs in Burlington, Ontario had a great analogy this week. She recently got new professional head shots (and they look amazing). Here is where the analogies come in:

Planning

Claire planned months in advance for her photo shot. She booked her photographer, her make-up artist, her hair stylist and the location she was going to use. With renovations, you really should be doing the same. Design work, procurement of all supplies, securing trades….that is all done with a renovation and it’s called planning!

Hiring the Experts

Although Claire admits she does a good job daily with her hair and her make-up, she hired experts to go the extra mile. With renovations, if you hire an Interior Design Professional, you know you too will be going the extra mile – as that is our job! We use our trade only sources to take your project to the next level!

Fast Track

When you hire professionals, their goal is to get you to the finish line faster than what you could do on your own. With Claire, it would have taken her hours to do her hair and make-up. It would have taken numerous shots that her photographer was able to capture in a timely fashion.

When you hire an Interior Design Professional, they take you on your renovation journey to have a successful result much faster than what it may take you. It just makes sense: hire the professional and you can’t go wrong.